Facts about Russia

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, TERRITORY AND CLIMATE

Russia is a transcontinental country: it is located in eastern Europe and northern Asia, occupying about 1/3 of the territory of Eurasia and 1/9 of the Earth’s land. The country borders on 18 states (the total length of the borders is 60.933 km, of which 38.808 are maritime). The territory is 17 125 191 square meters. km (for 2019).

The climate in Russia is very diverse: from subtropical on the Black Sea coast to sharply continental in Southern Siberia, where the annual temperature difference reaches 80 ° C, and the Arctic in the Far North. Most of the country is located in the temperate zone.

TIME

There are 11 time zones in Russia. Time is calculated from +2 hours GMT in Kaliningrad to + 12 hours in Kamchatka and Chukotka. Time in Moscow and St. Petersburg is +3 hours GMT.

MAIN CITIES, ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

The Russian Federation includes 89 equal subjects: 24 republics, 9 territories, 48 regions, 3 cities of federal significance, 1 autonomous region, 4 autonomous regions. The capital of Russia is Moscow. The largest cities (over 1 million people): Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Ufa, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Voronezh, Volgograd.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Russia is a federal republic. The head of state is the President, executive power belongs to the Government, headed by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. Legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers: the Federation Council and the State Duma.

POPULATION AND LANGUAGE

The country has 146.8 million people (Rosstat data, January 2019), with approximately 80% of the population being the Russians. In addition to the Russians, more than 190 peoples and nationalities live in Russia. The most numerous of them are Tatars and Ukrainians, as well as Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs, Jews and Germans.

The official (state) language throughout the Russian Federation is Russian.

The monetary unit is the ruble.

FAITH

Most of the believing Russians are Orthodox (the eastern branch of Christianity). Residents of Russia also profess Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism. The teachings of Protestant churches are also preached on Russian territory, with traditional beliefs such as shamanism existing too.

MAIN HOLIDAYS